Shade's Story: The Tale of the Fallen King
by Ace Flyheight
Summary: Side-story to Destiny and Fate. Explores the life of Shade long before the events of Destiny and Fate. The life of one who would become equal to the gods is thus chronicled here. Rated M for later chapters. High-caliber violence and language.
1. Chapter 1 The Beginning of the Journey

(Disclaimer: I'm only going to put the disclaimer on the first chapter here, but what it says, goes for every chapter. The property of Kingdom Hearts is owned by Square-Enix and Disney, but the story and my original characters are owned by me. Now, let's get on with the show.)

**Chapter 0**

**Prologue:**

This is the story of three people brought together not by destiny or by fate, but by a single weapon. That weapon would one day become known as the keyblade and become famous, yet the three that it brought together would soon be forgotten as time went on. Two of them would become equal to the gods themselves and yet even that would not be enough to ensure that the tales of their journeys would be passed down from generation to generation. This is not the legend of the first keyblade, this is the tale and story of those who were first brought together by it. This is their blood-stained, tear-streaked story.

**Chapter 1**

**The Beginning of the Journey:**

"So, what'll it be stranger?" The bartender, cleaning a glass, asked the young man who had just walked inside the pub and sat down at the bar. He had only taken a quick glance at the young man before he had asked the question that he always asked everybody that walked through that door. He guessed that the stranger was a drifter after he noticed the man's clothes.

The young man, who appeared to be in his early twenties, glanced up at the bartender with eyes that nobody could mistake for being the eyes of a normal human. The pupils were crimson instead of black, with the iris parts pitch black instead of being colored, and the sclera crimson instead of white. He brushed away a few strands of his crimson hair, streaked black in places, that went down to the bottom of his neck in the back, but only partially covered his eyes in the front somewhat. His clothes definitely fit the part of a drifter: a red-ankle length trench coat that was completely unbuttoned, a black sleeveless muscle shirt under the trench coat, black jeans that were tucked into black leather boots, a red cowboy hat, and two crimson wristbands on each of his wrists. "Just a beer and the name's Shade." The stranger, Shade, muttered.

The bartender nodded and began to fill a glass with beer as he glanced back at the stranger, whose name seemed to be Shade. "Shade? Kind of a weird name, don't you think? Actually on second thought, who cares? It's just a name, that's all. A name doesn't determine what you do with your life." The bartender said.

Shade chuckled a little to himself. "You know something, bartender? You might actually be right about that. That's some pretty good advice. As for the name itself, let's just say that it's got a kind of secret meaning to me." Shade said, slowly moving his hand around in the air as he talked as if he was kind of bored or something.

"Secret meaning, huh? Haven't heard anybody say something like that in a while. By the way, my name's Tom." The bartender, Tom, said as he handed the full glass of beer to Shade. "So, you a drifter or something? What brings you all the way out here?" Tom asked.

"Tom, huh? Well, it kind of fits you." Shade said as he took several gulps of the beer. He shrugged his shoulders a little. "Yeah, I guess that you could call me a drifter. I'm just passing through. I'll probably be leaving before the sun even sets. As for what brings me out here, I don't really know. I just felt the urge to travel and well, here I am." Shade said. What he had just said was a lie, a small lie, but he didn't feel like having to mess with anybody today. He was still tired from walking for the past two or was it three days without any rest.

Tom nodded a little. "Well good luck to you then. And I understand, everybody is born for a reason. Some people stay where they were born for their entire lives and accomplish great things, while others go on long journeys to the ends of the world and still accomplish great things. I guess that you're just one of the latter who were born to be wanderers." Tom said.

Shade just shrugged his shoulders again and continued to savor his cool beer.

During the time that Shade and Tom were conversing, one of the other patrons of the bar got up from his seat and stumbled drunkenly over towards Shade. "We don't...need any more...damn drifters...around here." The man slurred as he stood behind Shade.

Tom saw the guy that was behind Shade. "Sheesh Mark, just settle down for a while, okay? Yeah, he's a drifter but he's already said that he'll be leaving before sunset even gets here." Tom said to the drunk guy, Mark.

Shade continued to drink his beer, completely ignoring Mark.

A growl rose from Mark's throat as he realized that Shade was ignoring him. "Hey, I'm talking to you, punk." He said, grabbing a handful of Shade's trench coat and prepared to yank him away from the bar if he didn't start listening to him.

Shade slowly put his beer back down on the counter as he felt the tug on his coat. He would have grinned at the chance of taking this guy out right now if he still wasn't so tired and irritated from the lack of sleep and rest over the past few days. He placed his hand on top of Mark's hand that was gripping his coat. "If you want to keep all your fingers intact, then let go." Shade said, even though he didn't intend to let this guy off that easily.

"Why sho--" Mark began but suddenly stopped as he felt a pain wrench up through his entire arm.

Shade nearly did grin a little as he suddenly grabbed the man's pinky finger and pulled it so hard that it literally dislocated itself and then snapped the index finger backwards until a sickening crunch could be heard signifying that the finger had actually been broken.

Mark stumbled backwards and took a look at his hurting hand. The pinky was actually moving in directions that it normally shouldn't have been able to and the tip of his index finger was actually touching the back of his wrist. He glared at Shade with anger burning in his eyes as he tried to rush him, aiming a punch directly at Shade's face.

Shade stood up from his seat and watched as Mark tried to rush him. He blocked the punch with one hand and crushed Mark's wrist at the same time. He then delivered his own punch into Mark's chest but brought his face beside Mark's ear for just a moment to say one last thing. "I'm not in a good mood right now. Actually, I'm really pissed off because I haven't had any rest recently. If I was in a good mood, I'd probably kill you right now without any regrets, but I don't feel like wasting my time with you." Shade muttered as he ground his fist into Mark's stomach even harder until he finally hard several ribs break before pulling his fist back. He took a few steps backward and let Mark's now unconscious but still alive body fall to the floor. "Sorry about that. Just a slight disagreement." Shade said, off-handedly to the rest of the bar patrons as he walked back over to his seat and finished drinking his beer.

After about a minute, he placed his now empty glass back on the counter and laid some munny on the counter as well before he stood up. "Thanks for the conversation earlier, Tom. Oh and don't worry, Mark's not dead. At least not this time. He'll definitely be sore for a long time and I doubt that you'll have to worry about him starting any more bar brawls. I'm outta here. See you around, maybe." Shade said as he slowly walked back toward the door and walked outside into the light of the evening sun.

As Shade walked outside, he placed his hand above his eyes against his forehead to shield his eyes from the sun's brightness as he looked around a little. He sighed after a moment and started walking. He knew where he was going, he just didn't have any clue how to get there. He continued walking for a little while and found himself a short while later standing in front of an old temple. He shrugged his shoulders a little and walked inside. He might find a clue about where to head to next and even if he didn't, well, he could always take a quick nap or something inside.

Shade whistled a little as he glanced around at the inscriptions that lined every inch of the walls of the temple. He continued walking around inside the temple until he finally came to a stop in a room that turned out to be a dead end. "Sheesh, just great. A dead end in front of me and some guardians of this temple or some kind of crap like that behind me." He muttered as he turned around and stared at the two beings that had been behind him.

The two beings were easily twice the size of Shade and each carried a huge shield on their left arms while five long claws extended from their right hands. They seemed to wear some kind of cloak that covered their entire bodies and seemed to carry an air of bloodlust around them.

Shade nearly grinned in anticipation of the upcoming fight, but he was still completely drained. He saw the two beings take a few steps back in fear after seeing his eyes but then saw them stand their ground and take several steps towards him. "Well, hopefully I can get this over soon and take a break. I really need to get some rest so that I can actually start enjoying some of these fights." He said as he saw the two beings suddenly jab their claws forward and he began to dodge effortlessly between each one without any problems at all. After a few seconds, he grabbed one of the claws that tried to strike and drove his knee up into the claw so hard that it actually caused one of the blades of the claw to snap off. He grabbed the blade the instant that it snapped and threw it backhanded at the second being, piercing it between the eyes under the hood and going completely through and out the back of its head. He then broke off another one of the first being's blade-like claws while it was still screeching in pain and silenced its cries with a single thrust through its hooded head.

Shade stood up a little and sighed. Sheesh, he really was tired. He should have been able to draw that fight out a whole lot longer and actually have some fun. He shook his head a little and sat down against the wall, intent on catching up on some well-deserved sleep.


	2. Chapter 2 A Warrior's Strength

**Chapter 2**

**A Warrior's Strength:**

Shade yawned a few times as he woke up and looked around. He shook his head and stood up after a few seconds to stretch his arms and legs some. He smiled a little after a few seconds as he realized exactly how much better that he felt now. "Yeah, that's all I needed. Just some rest. Maybe now I can at least enjoy some of these fights." He said with a slight laugh as he left the temple and noticed that night had already fallen. He placed his hands in his pockets and began to make his way down a barren road that led away from the town where he had spent earlier at.

Shade continued to walk for a while and he started to become bored. He was almost starting to wish that somebody or something would hurry up and try to kill him or something. He glanced up at the stars in the night sky for just a moment but then glanced ahead of him as he spotted something in the distance. He could barely just make out a few lights and what appeared to be buildings. He realized that he had already found another town and he quickened his pace a little bit.

After a few minutes, Shade arrived at the edge of the town and glanced around at the buildings for just a moment. He then started walking around, wondering if he might have any more luck in this town than the last several. Suddenly, he stopped in his tracks as he saw someone ahead of him, watching him. "So, any particular reason why you're standing there watching me? I'm sure that I'm not the only drifter that has ever come through this town." He asked.

The person took a few more steps towards Shade, walking directly into a small area of ground that was currently lit by the light of the moon. The person seemed to be in his late 20s, probably 27 or 28, and had blue hair streaked with red that hid most of his face. The color of his eyes could barely be glimpsed through his thick bangs, but the goldish red color seemed to shine somewhat from behind the locks of hair. He wore some kind of cloak that was a mixed combination of red and blue and dark red pants that were tucked into a pair of leather boots that were scuffed up somewhat. The man shook his head a little. "Well, if you were a drifter then I wouldn't be here watching you, but you're not one. You're searching for _'something'_ aren't you?" He asked, putting a strange emphasis on the word, 'something'.

Shade scoffed a little. "I'm kind of surprised that somebody finally noticed. So then, what are you doing here watching me?" He asked.

The man shook his head a little, but he seemed to grin a little at the same time. "Well, let's just say that I'm on my own search for something. Something important." He said.

Shade sighed a little. "Sheesh, and here I was actually hoping that you wanted to fight me." He said.

The man chuckled a little to himself. "I'm definitely not here to fight you for sure. I know how strong you are. Oh, I never got around to introducing myself. My name is Dante." The older man, Dante, said.

"Dante huh? Not a bad name. It's got a slight badass sound to it. My name's Shade." Shade said.

"Shade? Well, it's definitely an uncommon name but I have to admit, it does kind of have a feeling of being mysterious. It kind of suits you." Dante said.

"So, what are you going to do? Follow me for whatever reason because it might lead you to what you're searching for or something like that?" Shade asked.

Dante shrugged a little. "Yeah, something like that. But, if you think about it, two people are better than one." He said.

Shade shrugged a little as well. "I guess that you're right about that. But, if we get into any fights let me handle them. I've been itching for some good battles for a while." He said.

Dante laughed a little. "Deal." He said after a few seconds.

And with that said, the two travelers left the small town and headed for the closet temple. Shade took the lead, still wondering if he might find any clues at this next temple but also now wondering about his little traveling companion.

After a short while, the two of them finally reached an old decrepit temple similar to the one that Shade has visited before night had fallen. The two of them walked inside and glanced around at the inscriptions on the walls.

Shade nearly grinned a little as he realized that he felt something in this temple. He didn't have a clue what it was yet, but it seemed to send a slight shiver down his spine. He looked over at Dante and saw that he felt the same thing. Shade continued to walk through the temple and could hear Dante's footsteps behind him. He finally reached a door after a few minutes of walking around and placed his hand on the door.

The instant that Shade's hand touched the door, a pair of claws nearly sliced into his back as he moved a few inches to the right to avoid being hit. He turned around and saw two temple guardians similar to the last two that he fought. He grinned a little and glanced over at Dante. "Don't forget what you agreed to and now, it's time for me to have some fun." He said and saw Dante shrug and lean back against the wall, keeping his end of the deal. He slowly reached under his trench coat and pulled out a pitch black long sword. Since he was back in a good mood right now, it'd only be right for him to actually get back to his normal way of fighting. He glanced up at the two guardians for just a moment and sneered. "If you want to die, then strike. And if you don't, you will still die." He said as he saw both guardians lunge at him and he just stood his ground, grinning the entire time.

As soon as the two beings' claws were within an inch or two of piercing Shade's flesh, both being's claws suddenly fell off of their arms. The two beings stared down at the bleeding stumps where their claws used to be attached to their wrists. They let out a shrill cry as the pain finally began to register in their brains.

Shade continued to grin as he swung the long sword around one time to toss the blood off of it and then lunged straight ahead with it, cutting off the first creature's cry of pain as the blade sliced clean through its neck and severed both its vocal chords and its spine. He pulled the blade in an upward thrust, bisecting the being's head as the blade finally came free.

The second being had just finally begun to recover from the pain of losing its claws when it suddenly felt an extreme amount of pain coming from its chest. It looked down at its chest and let out a piercing howl of anguish like nothing it had ever before.

After finishing off the first one, Shade had already dug his sword deeply into the second being's chest and swiftly sliced the blade straight up. The blade sliced the entire chest wide open, causing everything inside to spill out, even the ribs themselves that had been sliced clean through by the sword. Shade then plunged his free fist into the creature's chest so far that it actually burst out of the creature's back, holding the creature's heart in the hand. Shade then clenched his fist and crushed the heart in his hand. He then pulled his hand back out and saw the second and final creature fall to the ground dead.

The whole time that the _'battle'_ had been going on, Dante had been leaning against the wall and watching as Shade had some fun like he wanted to. He nearly grimaced a few times as he saw how vicious that Shade could be when he wanted to be. As he saw Shade deliver the final blow to the second guardian, he took a few steps towards Shade and watched as Shade resheathed his sword under his trench coat. "I have to say Shade, that really was impressive. I seriously thought that I was watching an Angel of Death, no, the Grim Reaper himself as you fought those two guardians." Dante said.

Shade shrugged his shoulders and then gave a cocky grin. "Try saying 'God of Death' instead. That's a lot closer to what I looked like." He said as he opened the door and began to proceed deeper into the temple.

After a short while of walking through several more rooms, the two travelers finally reached a room that held a single altar in the middle. Shade stepped up to the altar and smiled a little as he realized what was on the altar. The small object that lay on the altar was a simple medallion that was inscribed with an unknown symbol that Shade seemed to recognize. He picked up the medallion and slipped it into his pocket and headed back to the entrance of the temple, followed by Dante behind him.

"So, did you find what you were looking for?" Dante asked, talking about the medallion that Shade had taken.

Shade shrugged his shoulders a little. "Maybe. I don't know." He said. He was lying, but it wasn't as if he really had to tell Dante the truth about anything.

After a short while, they made it back to the entrance and began to head back to the last town that they had passed. They needed somewhere to rest for the night before continuing on their journeys the next day. Eventually, they made it back to the town and headed inside the inn.

Shade paid for his own room for the night, tossing a few insults at the desk clerk about how pricey the rooms were, as he headed upstairs to the room that he had just paid for. He reached his room after a few minutes of searching around and locked the door behind him as he went inside. He laid down on the bed, intent on catching up on some more sleep, but got up after about fifteen minutes or so when he realized that he couldn't fall asleep. He opened the window and climbed out onto the terrace of the inn and headed up onto the roof. He thought that he might be able to relax better up there hopefully. He reached the roof after nearly falling off the side of the inn a few times and laid down on his back, staring up at the stars.


	3. Chapter 3 Vision of Harrandel

**Chapter 3**

**Vision of Harrandel:**

Shade yawned a few times and stretched as he woke up and looked around. He realized that he had spent the entire rest of the night up on the roof of the inn. He stood up and closed his eyes for just a moment as he remembered the dream that he had just woke up from. He shook his head after a few seconds. "Sheesh, I really do have the weirdest dreams sometimes. Who was that kid anyway? His name was Ace or something like that, wasn't it? Ahh whatever, it was just a stupid dream. Besides, if I really met somebody that weak, about the only reason that I would want to be around them would just to be able to see them get themselves smacked down into the dirt or killed." He muttered to himself as he climbed off of the roof and began to head back downstairs.

Shade reached the first floor lobby after a few minutes and walked outside into the bright sunlight.

"Finally decide to wake up?" Asked a voice behind him.

"Yeah, I was dreaming so well that I didn't want to wake up." Shade said, a slight layer of sarcasm flowing underneath each and every word. He turned around and saw Dante leaning against the side of the entrance into the inn.

Dante shook his head a few times and walked up to Shade. "So, where to next? Any clue?" He asked.

Shade shrugged his shoulders. "Out of this boring town, that's for sure." Shade said as he began walking and could here Dante's steps right behind his own.

After a few minutes, Shade began to feel a little strange. He felt a slight shiver run through his body. He could feel something nearby, he didn't know what, but he didn't care. He looked around for just a moment and then sprinted off into the closet alley, leaving Dante in his dust. He ran through the alleys for about a minute or two until he suddenly saw his vision go black and he felt the ground disappear from under his feet. He then felt the ground under him and felt his vision come back to him. He looked around and realized that he was in some kind of temple, but a different one from the ones that he had been in so far. The entire room that he was in was blinding white and the walls were bare of any blemishes or inscriptions. He then felt a presence in the room besides his own and he looked around for the source. "Come out. I know that you're there. Hurry up and come on out into the open." Shade said, hearing his voice echo off the walls.

A gust of wind seemed to appear from somewhere in the room and blew around Shade for a few minutes. When the wind began to calm down, a somber voice began to speak. "I have not been hiding. I have no true physical form and that is why you can feel my presence but cannot see me." The voice said.

"Okay whatever, I couldn't care less about why I can't see you. What I actually want to know is what the heck is going on here. Less than a minute ago I was running through an alley and then I was suddenly here." Shade said.

"Arrogance, lack of patience, and over-confidence. Those are three traits that run deep in you but will also lead you to ruin one day." The voice said.

Shade scoffed a little. "Yeah, three traits that I'm proud to have. Now, do us both a favor and just shut up about that stuff and tell me what's going on." He said, beginning to get agitated.

The voice seemed to sigh a little. "Fine, I will tell you. This is the place where what you seek lies. This is where your journey will end. You will die here. But, then you---" The voice began but stopped as Shade interrupted.

"Sheesh, quit being so long-winded. All you had to say was just that this is the place were what I seek lies. You didn't have to add all that other stuff because all of that is wrong. This place will not be the end of my journey. I will not die here. I won't ever die." Shade said, turning around a little. "Now, tell me two things. One, where is this temple at? Two, how do I get out of here?" He asked.

"You do not have any clue about how foolish you really are. If you really intend to reach this temple then fine, I will tell you. This shrine, this holy ground, lies in the west where the sun sets. When the last visible rays of sunlight filter inside of here, this temple can be seen from miles away. It becomes almost like a beacon of light beckoning all travelers to it who are searching for it. The city where the temple lies is called Harrandel. As for how to leave here..." The voice said as it began to fade away.

"So, 'Harrandel'. Hey, don't fade away! You haven't told me how to get out of here." Shade said as he saw his vision go black again. He felt the ground disappear from under his feet again and he felt as if he was falling into nothingness for a short while.

Eventually, Shade saw his vision return and he realized that he was back in the alleyway again. He took a few steps but stopped as he heard his name being called from somewhere behind him.

"There you are Shade. I've been trying to keep up with you for the past few minutes and I just know finally caught back up with you." Dante said as he walked up beside Shade. He glanced over at Shade for a moment. "By the way, why did you rush off like that anyway?" He asked.

Shade shrugged his shoulders. "I thought that I saw somebody that I knew, that's all." He said as he began to walk off, followed by Dante. At least one good thing came out of that vision or hallucination, whichever it was, that he had just had a few minutes ago. He now knew exactly where to go. He glanced up somewhat at the sun for just a moment and smiled a little. It wouldn't be too much longer until he would be at Harrandel. He glanced back at Dante for just a moment. He still didn't have a clue about anything about Dante. He mentally shrugged after a few seconds and pushed the thoughts away. He had more important things to think about right now. The two of them continued on their way out of the town and towards the west, without another word said by either one.


	4. Chapter 4 A New Comrade

**Chapter 4**

**A New Comrade:**

Shade glanced up at the setting sun and remembered what that weird voice had told him nearly two weeks ago. He shrugged his shoulders a little in irritation as he realized that yeah, it had already been two weeks since he met Dante and found out about Harrandel. The two of them had already investigated several temples since then, but Shade never had any luck at any of the temples beyond a fulfilling fight or two. He hadn't found anything else besides the medallion that he had come across in the first temple he had visited since meeting up with Dante. He glanced over his shoulder a little at Dante. He had to admit, he'd actually begun to think of Dante as a comrade but definitely not as a friend for sure. He'd already found out that Dante was actually a pretty good fighter in his own right, even though there was no way that he was ever going to be in the same league as him, Shade.

Dante stretched a little as he continued walking behind Shade. "So Shade, about ready to stop and rest for the night?" Dante asked, pointing towards the town in the distance.

Shade shrugged. "Might as well." He said as he cracked his shoulders a little to try to get them to relax somewhat. "Who knows, something worthwhile might actually happen while we're there for the night." He mentioned casually, even though he rolled his eyes at the thought of anything worthwhile actually happening. Or well at least, anything worthwhile to him happening.

The two of them continued walking for a short while and eventually arrived at the town gate. They walked through the open gate and into town.

Shade looked around and rolled his eyes a little as he noticed that it was just the same as every other town that he'd already been through.

"I'll go ahead and get us two rooms over at the inn." Dante said as he walked off, leaving Shade alone.

"I guess that I've got some peace for a little while." Shade muttered to himself as he decided to go and grab a drink before doing anything else. He arrived at a pub but stopped right in front of the door. He glanced over at a shop's window just as the window shattered and somebody leapt through the still falling shards of glass.

The person was a young woman, probably about 21 or 22, with deep silver hair that went down to the middle of her back even though it was up in a ponytail and had deep purple eyes. She wore a dark pink cropped top that was purposefully bunched up a little to expose her abdomen, dark green zip-off shorts which were currently still zipped on so that they stopped at the top of her mixed blue and pink tennis shoes instead of at her knees, a dark green windbreaker jacket that was tied around her waist instead of being worn, and a single dangling earring in each ear which had a small metallic heart located at the bottom end of each. The woman gripped a single pistol in her left hand and fired at something still inside of the shop.

Shade whistled a little as he saw the young woman and leaned against the door of the pub to enjoy whatever was going on. After a few seconds, he was able to get a better look at the pistol that the woman was wielding.

The pistol was a single barrel model with a long slide design to improve the velocity and force of the bullets that were now being fired in rapid succession from the barrel. The purple-eyed woman stopped firing for just long enough to glance down at a gash in her right leg that she had received earlier and cursed under her breath. At that exact moment, she felt something breathing behind her and let out a hail of bullets behind her back without once glancing over her shoulder. She heard a scream as well as the sound of ice cracking and grinned a little. She twirled around and buried one last bullet between the creature's eyes before she even finished turning around. She watched the creature become incased in ice and then whacked its head with her pistol causing the entire creature to shatter into hundreds of pieces. She sighed in relief and stuffed the pistol into the side of the jacket that she wore around her waist. She wiped away some of the sweat from her face as she glanced over at the young man by the pub that she had seen after she had jumped through the shop window. "So, what's your name stranger? And while we're on that note, any particular reason why you didn't act like a gentleman and actually help me?" She asked, eyeing Shade.

Shade shrugged his shoulders and rolled his eyes a little. "It's Shade and as for why I didn't help...If you haven't noticed already, I'm not the gentleman type. And besides, you had it under control." He said.

"Shade...Well, it definitely fits you." The woman said, a knowing grin visible on her face. "Actually, yeah I know. You're the selfish bastard type who only looks out for himself and couldn't care any less about anyone around you, right?" She said, that knowing grin still visible on her face.

Shade scoffed a little even as a small grin appeared on his face for just a moment. _'I have to give this chick credit for one thing: she's definitely interesting for sure, well at least compared to some of the '__**women**__' that I've met before.'_ "So while we're at it, what's your name anyway?" He asked.

The woman turned her back a little, her silver ponytail swishing through the air, as she intertwined her fingers behind her head and glanced up at the sky for a moment. "Let's just say that I've got a lot of names. The Reaper's Lover, The Child of the Gods, The One Who Flirts with Death, She Who Dances on the Graves of Kings, Death Dealer Sera, but you can just call me Seraphina." The woman, Seraphina, announced as she glanced back over at Shade.

"Seraphina, huh? I guess it suits you about as well as those other names do." Shade said. A slightly cocky grin suddenly crossed his lips after a few seconds. "You might want to—" He began as he flung his sword straight towards Seraphina.

"—look behind you." Seraphina finished as she drew her pistol and fired a single bullet at Shade in the blink of an eye.

In that instant, two similar screams could be heard at the exact same time. Shade's sword had cleaved a streak through a creature's, which strongly resembled the guardians of the temples, skull and impaled it to the ground. Seraphina's bullet had also struck the skull of another creature that had been behind Shade just as the other one had been behind Seraphina. The second creature fell to the ground, its head completely incased in ice and the rest of its body twitching uncontrollably.

"Toss my sword back!" Shade ordered as he turned around and stared into the frozen eyes of the creature that had been about to attack him just a few moments ago. He brought his right foot up and then smashed the boot down against the creature's head.

As the head of the creature shattered under the force of Shade's boot, the rest of the body stopped twitching and lay still on the ground.

"Here!" Seraphina replied as she tossed the sword back at Shade.

"That's better." Shade muttered as he saw the creature stop moving. He turned back around just as the sword was still flying through the air and caught it easily without a single problem. As he caught the sword, he looked around a little and realized the predicament that the two of them were in right now.

A huge group of the creatures was beginning to form around Shade and Seraphina, some having already been there and others beginning to spill out of the alleys.

Shade counted about a good eighty or so before he lost count of the creatures that had surrounded the two of them. He felt his lips twist into a grin and he knew that this was definitely going to be a battle that he could enjoy. He held his long sword gripped tightly in his right hand and prepared to start yet another massacre, but stopped as he felt something press against his back even though he continued grinning.

"So just how good are you with that sword?" Seraphina asked as she pressed her back against Shade's back somewhat as the creatures continued to box them in together.

Shade laughed. "Well, there's a reason why in some places I'm called the God of Death. I'm better with this sword than the Grim Reaper is with his scythe." He said, eyeing the opposing creatures. "So what about you? Just how good are you with that gun of yours, Miss 'Death Dealer Sera'?" He asked sarcastically.

Seraphina chuckled a little. "Just as good as you are with that sword, Mr. 'God of Death'." She said. "Well, you ready for this?" She asked.

"Hell yeah. This is what I live for." Shade said and then laughed a little after he realized how ridiculous that sounded when he actually said it.

And with those words said, the massacre began.

Shade weaved in and out of the mass of creatures, slaughtering each one as easily as a reaper might harvest souls. He would slice one completely in half and then do a quick spin to decapitate entire groups at a time. He almost couldn't believe how much he was enjoying the fight, he hadn't had this much fun in a long time. He barely avoided a sneak attack from behind and then stabbed his sword backwards into the creature's chest without so much as a glance and then used all his strength to pick the creature up and swing it into a group of the creatures. He then ducked under one creature's claws and sliced its legs out from under it, before straightening back up and decapitating the creature.

At the same time, Seraphina's part of the battle was just as effortless as Shade's. She concentrated her energy into her pistol and let loose a volley of bullets that tore through the nearest creatures. She watched for just a moment as each creature burst into flames wherever the bullets had connected. She kicked one creature that got too close to her in the face and followed that kick up with a single bullet between the creature's eyes. She then used the creature's body as a spring and jumped up into the air. She turned her body upside down in mid-air and then rained down a hail of bullets during her descent into every creature that had gathered below her. She looked around as she landed on her feet without any trouble and noticed just how many creatures were screaming in pain from what she called her own personal Hellfire. She knocked away one of the creature's claws with the side of her pistol and rewarded it with a fiery bullet in each eye.

After about an hour or two, the massacre was finally over. The moon was now high up in the sky and it cast a pale light on what was once a normal street. What must have been the bodies and body parts of at least a hundred, no two hundred, creatures lay strewn across the street. The entire road was drenched in so much blood that the sand and dirt of the street could not even be seen.

Shade swung his sword one last time to toss the blood off of it and then resheathed it under his coat. He then wiped a little sweat from his face as he glanced over his shoulder at Seraphina. "Hey, not bad. Not bad at all." He called to Seraphina over his shoulder.

Seraphina stuffed her pistol back into the side of her jacket and took a deep breath. It had been a while since she had a real fight like that even though it had still been too easy. "Heh, not bad yourself. I can see why you're known as the God of Death." She said, acknowledging what Shade had said before the fight.

"Wow. So Shade, what exactly did I miss and who is that young woman with you?" Dante asked as he walked up to Shade and Seraphina, observing the dead corpses all around him with every step.

"Nothing much. Just a little fight. Oh, she's just someone that ended up getting attacked by these creatures as well so we decided to work together...or something like that. Her name's Seraphina." Shade said, stretching a little to relax his muscles.

"Yeah, your friend Shade's right. We just happened to be in the same place at the same time and all that stuff." Seraphina said, looking Dante up and down for a moment.

"Oh okay. And it's good to meet you Seraphina, my name is Dante." Dante said, turning towards Shade. "I got those two rooms at the inn booked for us a little while ago." He mentioned.

Shade nodded a little at what Dante said and then began to head in the direction that the hotel was in. He heard two sets of footsteps behind him after a few seconds and glanced over his shoulder to see Dante and Seraphina behind him. "You're coming to?" He asked.

Seraphina nodded and grinned a little. "I don't have anywhere else to go. You have a problem with that?" She questioned.

Shade shrugged his shoulders and rolled his eyes a little. "Nah, and besides, you weren't half-bad earlier in that fight. You can consider it an honor that I'm letting you tag along." He said.

Seraphina chuckled a little. "Whatever you say." She said sarcastically as she continued to follow Shade and Dante.

Shade laughed a little to himself. "By the way, you're paying for your own room at the inn tonight." He announced.

"I was planning on paying for myself anyway because it didn't look as if you two had any money at all." Seraphina said, a cocky grin plastered on her face as she speeded up a little bit and began walking right alongside Shade.

Shade rolled his eyes a little and then grinned right back at Seraphina. "And you have money? Actually, don't answer that. Of course you do and I can imagine exactly why you've got any money at all." Shade said, glancing at Seraphina and pretending to admire her body for a few moments so that she would get what he meant.

Seraphina blushed just a little bit and quickly turned her head away for a moment until the blush could fade away. She turned back after a moment and tried to smile condescendingly to Shade. "As if. The reason that I've got money is because I'm a great gunslinger. I get paid to do a good job and I get paid very well." She said, the last shades of red fading to pink and then fading away completely from her cheeks as she talked.

Shade shook his head and chuckled a little at Seraphina's response.

And with that, the three travelers continued on their way to the inn to relax for the rest of the night.


	5. Chapter 5 Nighttime Conversations

**Chapter 5**

**Nighttime Conversations:**

Shade watched the moon high up in the sky from the top of the inn. He had tried to sleep for a little while, but he never could fall asleep for some reason. He had decided to come out here and just watch the night go by until the morning finally came. Shade took the medallion that he had found back in one of the temples from his pocket and glanced at it for a few moments. "So...Harrandel. I'll be there soon and when I arrive, everything's going to change. I can already feel the power radiating from that place." He muttered, grinning a little as he placed the medallion back in his pocket. He then thought about Dante and Seraphina for a moment. "I guess that if they do end up staying with me until I finally reach Harrandel, then I'll just have to get rid of them then. It's not as if either one of them's my friend, nor will they ever be." He muttered as he brought his right fist up a little and leaned the side of his head against his fist.

"So any particular reason why you're not sleeping like everybody else?" Asked Seraphina as she sat down next to Shade on the roof.

Shade chuckled a little. "Because I'm not as weak as most people. That's why everyone else needs so much sleep; just to be able to get through the next day." He said as he glanced over at Seraphina. "So what's your excuse for not being asleep right now?" He questioned.

Seraphina shrugged and stared at the stars for a moment. "One, I couldn't sleep. Two, your friend Dante has a snoring problem." She said.

Shade laughed a little and shook his head. "That reminds me, what were you doing in this town today anyway?" He asked.

"Nothing much really, just passing through. I'm on my own journey...Kind of like you and Dante." Seraphina replied.

Shade laughed again. "Now where have I heard that before? Ah, forget it." He said.

Seraphina continued to stare at the stars for a few minutes before she said anything else. "Hey, I've got a question. What kind of journey are you and Dante on?" She asked.

"I don't know about Dante, but I'm searching for something. That's why I'm on this journey." Shade said.

Seraphina sighed and grinned at Shade. "So cliché." She said.

"Who cares if it's clichéd. What's the reason for your journey then?" Shade asked.

"I'm looking for the Legacy of the Gods." Seraphina announced.

Shade grinned outwardly but he was almost a little shocked on the inside. "Oh yeah, the old fairytale. And for your information, that's even more cliché than my answer." He said, still grinning.

"'Fairytale' huh? Well, that's what most people think only because they can't feel its power, its attraction. Those that have been touched by it search for it their entire lives. Those that can feel that connection are the ones who know that it isn't just a fairytale." Seraphina said.

Shade chuckled a little. "And you're one of the ones who can feel it, am I right?" He asked sarcastically.

"Well duh. I've been searching ever since I became a gunslinger." Seraphina said proudly.

Shade shook his head. "When Dante wakes up, you two can meet up with me at the town entrance." He said as he stood up and walked over to the edge of the roof. He then leaped off before Seraphina could say a word and landed on the top of a small store below him. He then began to head across the rooftops with no particular direction or location in mind.

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"Took you two long enough." Shade said, leaning against the side of a small store, as he noticed Seraphina and Dante and reach him. He was just about ready to go ahead and leave town before he had noticed them but he had decided to wait a few more minutes for them.

"No, you just got here too early." Seraphina said as she and Dante walked up to Shade.

"So Shade, exactly where are we headed today?" Dante asked.

Shade shrugged his shoulders. "No clue, just keep on walking. Find another temple or something." Shade said, a tiny stream of evasion hidden under the words.

"So that's what your plan is, just keep on walking? Sheesh, you need to at least have a destination in mind." Seraphina said, rolling her eyes and walking past Shade.

"Who says that I don't have a destination in mind?" Shade questioned with a slight grin as he started walking too.

Dante sighed a little to himself and shook his head as he began walking behind Shade and Seraphina.

Shade let out a slight sigh as he glanced up at the sun for a quick moment and realized that they had already been walking for at least three or four straight hours. He was just about to turn around and say something when he suddenly realized that he couldn't hear anyone's footsteps except for his own. He turned around somewhat and noticed that Seraphina and Dante were both gone, vanished. "What the..." He began but stopped as he felt something around him, something that smelled of complete darkness. "Hey! Come on out and show yourself!" Shade said, grinning as he felt the kind of darkness that was around him.

At that moment, the field that Shade had been in up until that point suddenly faded away and was replaced by an infinite blackness that stretched as far as the eye could even imagine.

"I am impressed. I did not think that a normal mortal could sniff out the darkness as you have." A voice said from somewhere in the blackness. After a few moments, some of the darkness began to form a shape–a human shape—in front of Shade.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm not a normal mortal. I already know that. Now, as for you, what the hell's your name? I need a name so I know what to call you before I kill you." Shade asked.

The darkness finally finished forming the shape it had decided on and a man about Shade's age stood there watching him. The man had short black hair and pitch black eyes that would have sent shivers down Shade's spine had Shade actually been a normal mortal. "My name is of no concern to you. All you need to know is that you can not reach the temple. You will not. You already know that if you do reach the temple, then you will die even though—" The man began but suddenly stopped talking after a moment.

"I guess that you're a friend of that spirit or whatever that first told me about Harrandel, aren't you? I'm going to warn you just like I did him. I hate people who like being more long-winded than me." Shade said as he finished plunging his now blood-drenched sword through the man's body and out his back.

The man smiled, knowingly, as he grimaced a little from the blade's thrust through his body. "Shade, you truly do not yet know what awaits you at the temple." He said as his body faded away and the blackness that had surrounded Shade suddenly shattered.

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"What the hell!" Shade nearly yelled as he realized that he was about to hit a building. He brought his feet up in front of him, kicked off the side of the building, and landed on the ground easily. He glanced up above him and saw the building that he had jumped from and then saw the building that he had nearly crashed into. He then remembered about what had happened to him in the past few minutes. He remembered about the infinite darkness, the man, what happened before that, everything. He realized that it was another illusion or hallucination like the one from before after a few moments as he sighed a little and glanced at the rising sun in the distance. "With all these illusions and everything, I've definitely got to be getting close now." He muttered under his breath as he began to walk through the dead streets instead of across the rooftops this time.

"So—mind explaining why you're the one who's late this time, Shade?" Seraphina asked from the side of the town gate. She and Dante had already been waiting a little while for Shade and they had both actually begun to wonder if Shade might have gotten in over his head while he had been out wandering around town.

Shade just shrugged his shoulders and walked past them through the gate. "No particular reason. I was just out having some last minute _'fun'_ in some of the bars around here. You can take that however you want to." He said as he stopped walking and glanced over his shoulder, waiting for the two of them to hurry up if they really were planning on coming with him.

Seraphina chuckled and rolled her eyes a little at Shade's excuse as her and Dante caught up with Shade. "You so do not want to know what I think that your definition of fun is in a small town like this." She said.

"So Shade, any particular destination today or just more temple searching?" Dante asked.

Shade shrugged his shoulders. "The hell I know. The next temple, I guess." He said.

And with those words said, the three travelers began to make their way towards the next temple.


	6. Chapter 6 Shed Blood and Shadowed Truths

A/N: Wow, already up to Chapter Six. I'm actually amazed that I've gotten this far considering how much school has been interfering with my spare time nowadays. Well, hope that you guys enjoy this chapter. By the way, if you've been reading any of the chapters so far, I would really like to hear a couple of reviews from you guys. I know that my writing is definitely not the greatest in the world, personally I know that it's nothing to brag about for sure, but I would really like to hear from you guys, my readers. I'd like to hear some criticism, encouragment, and maybe even some theories about what all of you think might happen later on whether it's related to characters, the story, etc. Well, I'm just going to shut up now so that those that want to start reading can. Well, until next time, here's the newest chapter:

**Chapter 6**

**Shed Blood and Shadowed Truths:**

Shade heard Seraphina whistle a little from behind him as the three of them stopped in front of a majestic temple that seemed to be in much better condition than most of the temples thus far. Shade saw a lock on the front door and was just about to unsheathe his sword when he heard Seraphina speak up.

"Trust me Shade; you don't want to try that." Seraphina said as she walked past him and drew her gun. She aimed the barrel at the lock and quickly fired two ice bullets—one aimed at the lock and the other aimed at the ground in front of the door. As soon as the first bullet came into contact with the lock, the lock shattered into pieces and the second bullet hit the ground, freezing it over just as it suddenly began to collapse in on itself. "It's an old trap that's pretty much unheard of nowadays. When the lock is destroyed, it triggers a well-placed spell. In this case, the ground in front of the door was sitting on top of a Gravity spell..." She explained as she walked over to where she had frozen the ground and looked through the transparent ice at the actual trap hidden underground. "...And anybody that had been standing on that piece of ground when the spell activated would have instantly been dragged down into the spikes that had been laid at the bottom of the hole." She finished explaining as she walked over the frozen ground and opened the door. "So, you two coming?" She asked, glancing at them from over her shoulder.

Shade just shrugged through the entire explanation. "Yeah yeah, don't really need to hear about the details. Besides, all you would have had to do would be to just move out of the way before you fell into the stupid trap." He said as he and Dante followed Seraphina into the temple. He glanced around at the inside of the temple and nearly whistled a little as he saw the pristine condition of it, compared to the previous temples. He stopped for just a moment as he felt something. There was something here in the temple. He didn't know what it was, but the scent was familiar in a way. He shrugged a little and continued walking.

"Hey, so—" Seraphina began as she turned around to face Shade and Dante, but suddenly stopped as the floor under her feet gave away. She had just enough time to utter one quick scream as she plunged down into the pitch black darkness.

"No!" Dante yelled as he rushed past Shade and tried to grab Seraphina's hand just as he saw her start falling. He made a grab for her wrist just as he got to the edge of the pit and barely missed, only brushing the tips of her fingers.

Shade just shook his head a little as he saw the events unfold before his eyes. He took a few steps forward and stopped beside Dante at the edge of the pit. "Why were you so worried about her when she fell into this pit just now? She was too cocky and just forgot to look where she was going. It's her own fault." He said even though he was thinking other thoughts at the same time. _'...But, I guess that if she's still alive and catches back up with us eventually, then I'll have to concede that she's definitely strong enough to be by my side. At least for a little while longer that is.'_

Dante lowered his head for just a moment. "You know Shade; you really can be cruel sometimes." He said.

"If you say so." Shade said, shrugging his shoulders, as he made a leap over the pit and landed on the other side. "You coming?" He asked.

"Coming." Dante muttered as he glared at Shade for a moment before making his own leap over the pit and landing beside Shade.

As soon as Shade had seen Dante land next to him, he continued making his way through the hallways and passages of the temple. He knew that Dante was following him, but at a distance because of the distant echo of his leather boots hitting the stone floor.

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Seraphina couldn't believe that she had fallen for a trap like that. Normally, she would have never fallen for something like that. She had already drawn her pistol, even though she didn't believe that she would have any use for it right now. After a few seconds, her eyes suddenly grew wide with shock as she saw the bottom of the pit. "Oh crap!" She yelled as she saw the rows and rows of spikes that lined every inch of the floor. She tried to think of some way to keep from getting herself killed, but she couldn't think of anything. "Come on! Think, think damn it!" She cursed as she tried to come up with something, anything. A small grin crossed her lips as an idea finally crossed her mind. She aimed the barrel of the pistol down at the floor and fired as many of her ice bullets as she could, covering the entire floor with her ice spikes. She then, just as quickly, let loose a volley of fire bullets down towards the floor that melted the ice bullets and caused the entire spiked floor to become a miniature lake. She then concentrated and fired one last ice bullet down into the middle of the newly formed lake just before she would have hit the spikes.

All of the water froze in an instant as the ice bullet connected with it and Seraphina landed on the ice, only having to worry about avoiding a few of the taller spikes instead of the rows and rows that she originally had to worry about. She let out a sigh of relief as she realized that her crazy idea actually worked. She rubbed the muscles in her legs for just a moment to try to get rid of the pain from her impact with the hard ice and then glanced around. She smiled after a moment as she saw a passageway leading out of this death trap. As she began to head down the passage, she began to wonder if Shade or Dante had fallen into a different trap after she had. She shook her head after a moment and continued on. She had a feeling that if Shade fell into a trap or something, then he'd get out of it without a single scratch somehow. She wasn't so sure about Dante though, but she decided to not worry about that right now.

After a few minutes of running, Seraphina finally reached what looked like a ceremonial chamber and glanced around. "Wow, now this is impressive." She said as she walked around the chamber for a few minutes, just admiring the architecture. She then heard footsteps and turned around, expecting to see either Dante or Shade.

But the figure that was walking towards Seraphina was neither one of them. The figure was a woman about Seraphina's age with long blond hair flowing down to her waist and deep blue eyes.

Seraphina reasoned that the woman wasn't a danger and placed her pistol back in her jacket. "So, who are you?" She asked.

The woman stopped walking and seemed to smile a little at the question. "Who are you, my dear?" She asked back.

Seraphina grit her teeth a little bit as she saw the smile and heard the question. "...Seraphina. Now, who are you?" She asked, more forcefully this time.

The woman took a few more steps towards Seraphina. "...Seraphina...Definitely a name that fits the one who is known as the 'Child of the Gods'. My name is Darina." The woman, Darina, said as she bowed a little.

"Well, okay Darina." Seraphina said as she turned around and began to cross through the ceremonial chamber.

"Wait. You know that if you continue on this journey, then you will have to forfeit your life, right? Are you sure that you're willing to risk such a high and dangerous cost." Darina asked.

Seraphina stopped in her tracks and glanced over her shoulder back at Darina. "I've never been surer of anything in my life. Besides, I'll die eventually. I might as well make the most of what time I have left and make sure that my name goes down in history. If nothing else, I want to have a legacy that'll live on long after I leave this life." She said with a slight smile.

Darina seemed to smile a little at that comment. "Even as a little girl you were never scared of death. You could have met death face to face and stared him down. There would have been nothing that he could do to frighten you." She said.

Seraphina looked a little shocked at Darina's words. "Wait a sec. How do you know about how I used to be?" She asked.

Darina turned her back to Seraphina for a moment. "I'm sorry, but I can't tell you. But, you do know me. You'll figure it out on your own eventually." She said as she began to walk away.

"Wait!" Seraphina pleaded as she continued to just stand there, watching Darina walk away.

"We'll see each other again soon. But before we do meet again, make sure to leave your legacy here in this life." She said as she suddenly faded away into nothingness.

"Who was she?" Seraphina muttered to herself under her breath as she turned back around and prepared to leave the ceremonial chamber. She shook her head after a moment as she remembered that she had more important things to worry about right now—like to trying to find a way out of here. She walked over to the door at the opposite end of the chamber and opened it, closing it behind her as she walked through it.

'_You know that if you continue on this journey, then you will have to forfeit your life, right?'_

She still couldn't get that single line out of her head. She knew that it was true, she had known for years. All those who feel a connection to the Legacy of the Gods are destined to die when they reach it. "I know that no one has ever returned from their journey to find it. That's the thing: just because you can feel the power and connection from it, doesn't mean that you're worthy to receive it. I might not be worthy either, but I'll be damned if I don't at least try to reach it. Besides, it's not as if I've got anything to lose. There's a reason why I've never been scared of death and that reason is why I'm not going to give up my journey yet. I didn't become a gunslinger just to make money, I became a gunslinger to prepare for this journey and I'm not ready to give up yet." She muttered to herself as she glanced down at her right hand, just now realizing that she had balled it up into a fist while she had been talking to herself. She sighed a little, relaxing her hand, and glancing at the passageway that now lay out in front of her.

A few minutes later, Seraphina reached the end of the passageway and emerged into what appeared to be a crude and hastily built torture chamber. She shivered as she glanced around, imagining for a moment that she could still here the cries and screams of those who had been tortured here. She let out a held breath as she stopped shivering and took a few steps into the blood-stained, cold room.

As Seraphina's steps echoed throughout the empty room, shrill and piercing laughter began to simultaneously emanate from the walls, the torture devices—everything.

"Who's there? Show yourself!" Seraphina said, wincing a little at the echo of her own voice throughout the voice.

The laughter subsided instantly and then a voice, that seemed to chill the room even more so with its words, spoke. "It has been a long time since I have seen any visitors come to my personal chamber. And better yet, my first visitor in so long just happens to be such a lovely young woman." The voice said, even though now it seemed to be coming from behind Seraphina.

"Shut—" Seraphina began, but stopped as she glanced over her shoulder and saw what was behind her. She saw what appeared to be fog or mist at first, but it was quickly changing into something that definitely resembled a human being.

After just a few seconds, the mist had become a fully formed person. It resembled an older man, probably in his late thirties or early forties, with medium-length black hair and icy blue eyes that held not just a touch of insanity in them, but complete and utter insanity behind each orb. He was dressed in a gentleman's outfit and could have probably passed as one except for the aura of insanity and cruelness that flowed from him. "Oh...You really are a diamond in the rough, a true rose. You really are a beauty to behold my fair lady." He whispered in Seraphina's ear as he suddenly wrapped his arms around her waist and breathed in her ear in just the blink of an eye.

"Ahh! Get—Get away from me!" Seraphina screamed as she shook the man off and tried to get as much distance as she could from him.

The man just smiled as Seraphina broke his grip and got some distance between them. "Did I scare you, my dear? Even if I did, that's still no reason to put so much distance between us. I don't want to hurt you quite yet so don't encourage me to. I want to bask in your beauty for just a little while longer before we have to move on." He whispered as he began to slowly walk towards Seraphina.

"Get the hell away from me!" She yelled as she brought her pistol up. She wasn't even going to give this creep a chance to get one step closer to her. She quickly pulled the trigger twice and nearly smiled a little as she saw the two fire bullets head straight towards the man.

The man just kept walking as the two bullets suddenly came into contact with his face. One bullet tore a path through his open mouth, melting part of the jaw and blowing the back of his throat away. The other bullet tore through his left eye socket, melting the eye ball and clearing a hole straight through the back of his head. He stopped for just a moment and fell to the ground, dead, from the two rounds.

Seraphina breathed out a sigh of relief as she saw the man collapse on the floor. She took a couple of steps towards the man, intent on making sure he was dead before she did anything else. She reached his body after a couple more steps and used her foot to flip his body over so that she could she could put a few more rounds into his face.

"Boo sweetheart." The man said, his mouth and left eye still blown to shreds, as he jumped up at Seraphina.

Seraphina yelped in surprise as she tried to move away, but felt the man grab her right wrist. She felt the gun ripped out of her grip and then screamed as she felt a sudden pain from her right hand. She glanced down at her throbbing hand and nearly screamed again at what she saw. There was a good-sized knife pierced clean through her palm and one all the way through her wrist—through the bone, muscle, and everything. "You ba—" She tried to say as she saw the man's face in front of her eyes and then felt something like a pin or a needle pierce the soft skin of her throat. She coughed and tried to struggle as she realized that he was injecting something into her. She felt herself beginning to drift away after a moment and felt her eyes starting to get heavy. After about another three or four seconds, all she could see was blackness and she felt herself drifting even further into darkness.

"_Where am I? Is this death?"_

"_No, not yet. But it will be if you give up."_

"_Can't I at least rest for a little?"_

"_No, resting right now would be just like giving up. Besides, weren't you going to make sure that you left a legacy behind so that people would know that you existed?"_

"_Yeah, I did say that...I meant every word, but my body...I feel so drowsy and so tired...There's nothing that I can't do right now."_

"_Yes, there is. Just open your eyes and think of something. You've gotten out of worse situations than this before. Aren't you the one who's called: The Reaper's Lover, The Child of the Gods, The One Who Flirts with Death, She Who Dances on the Graves of Kings, Death Dealer Sera? Aren't those what people call you? Don't give up yet. Do what you do best. Show that insane man what happens when someone messes with the Gods, with Death, and with the Reaper himself. Show him exactly why you are called those names and more!"_

"_Heh...I guess that I should at least try. If I'm going to die, then I'd rather die on my terms than by some insane man's hands."_

Seraphina slowly opened her eyes and glanced around. She realized that she was in some kind of torture device. She was hanging in mid air from multiple strands of barbed wire. The barbed wire was wrapped around her throat, wrists, shoulders, waist, thighs, knees, and feet. She tried to move just an inch and had to clamp her mouth shut to muffle the near scream from the pain. That slight movement of hers had caused almost all of the barbed wire to dig even deeper into her skin through the holes that they had already made through her clothes. When the pain finally passed, she glanced down at her right hand and noticed that both knives were still embedded and that now the hand seemed to be bent a little awkwardly at the wrist. She tried to avert her eyes from the wrist and glanced down at the floor beneath her. Her eyes widened a little as she saw the huge puddle of blood and realized just how much she must have already lost. That voice that she had heard had been right; she really didn't have any time to waste. She tried to struggle a little more and let out a gasp at the pain. The only problem now was trying to figure out how to get out of this stupid thing.

"I'm glad to see that you're still alive and awake. I hope that my little device doesn't hurt too much." The man said as he suddenly appeared in front of Seraphina, floating in mid air.

Seraphina tried to grin a little. "No, it doesn't hurt too much, you little creep." She muttered as she spit some blood on the man's face.

The insane man smiled a little as he wiped the blood away with the back of his hand. "Well then, I guess that I'll just have to draw it out longer to make up for the lack of pain, won't I?" He cruelly asked as he brushed his hand across Seraphina's neck, putting pressure on the barbed wire.

Seraphina nearly let out a scream at the pain as she felt even more of her life beginning to drain out of her body.

At that exact moment, footsteps could be heard from somewhere above the room. "Oh, it's your friends again. They've been walking around in circles for the past hour or so. Oh and don't worry, they can't hear us down here. There's too many floors between this one and the on that they're on. Also, don't worry. I'm not planning on going after them. I'm only interested in those who wander into my chamber; I'm not interested in those who wander the rest of the temple." The man said as he brought his face up to Seraphina's and stared into her eyes for a few moments.

"When I get out of this thing. I'm going to make you pay. I'm going to make you wish that you were the Devil's personal ass licker when I'm done with you. I am going to kill you for this..." She muttered, cool rage flowing underneath every word.

The insane man laughed at Seraphina's threat. "You are not in a position to make threats my dear." He whispered as he continued to watch her.

Seraphina grit her teeth. She was tired of this guy. No, she was more than just tired of him. Then, she remembered about the two knives still in her right hand and wrist. She mentally grinned a little as a single word appeared in her mind: _'Payback.'_ She grit her teeth harder as an idea came to her. It was a crazy idea, but those were usually the ones that worked. She put all her strength into moving her left arm and forced her left arm to move. She grimaced but grinned at the same time as she felt some of the barbed wire give way and snatched the knife out of the palm of her right hand. She then buried the knife in the insane man's chest and carved halfway through the man's chest before he even realized what had happened. She ripped the knife back out of the man's body and watched his body fall to the floor just like before. But this time, she tossed the knife down at his body and pierced it clean through his skull and into the floor. She didn't want him dead yet, but she definitely didn't want him moving around right now. She then ripped the knife out of her wrist, screaming every second of the way, and then began to cut the barbed wire that was holding her up in the air. As she cut the last strand, she felt herself falling and barely caught herself on her landing. She grimaced in pain as she stood up and began to slowly remove all of the barbed wire that was still stuck in her body. She then walked over to the insane man's twitching body and kneeled down next to him, a grin on her face. "Oh, does it hurt too much?" She asked. "I can't hear you. Speak up." She said after a moment and ground her good fist into the man's chest somewhat. "I really thought that you were the talkative type. I guess that I was wrong." She asked, watching as the man tried to say something but couldn't get the words out. "Do you want some water? Is that it? Are you thirsty?" She asked, feigning sweetness as she picked up the barbed wire that she had just pulled out of her skin. "I'm sorry, but I'm out of water. I hope that this'll do instead." She said as she stuffed the entire gigantic wad of barbed wire down his throat. She then stood up and walked away but stopped as she saw something shining out of the corner of her eye. She glanced back and saw her pistol on the floor. She walked over and picked it up before turning back towards the man. "Don't worry, I really want to drag this out. Believe me, you're going to wish that I put a bullet in that damn skull of yours instead of what I'm going to do." She said as she fired several ice bullets into both of the man's arms, freezing both arms from the shoulders down to the fingertips. She brought her foot down on both arms, completely shattering them into a million pieces. She then did the same thing to both of his legs. "Don't worry, you won't bleed to death. I froze the wounds, so all of your blood is still in your body." She said as she began to walk away. "I don't know long it'll be until you die, but don't worry. You'll die eventually from that barbed wire in your throat. It'll shred your throat eventually and then your lungs won't be able to get any oxygen. Trust me when I say that it's going to be slow and agonizing." She said as she left the chamber without another word.


End file.
